Last year The Revenant star Leonardo DiCaprio opened up about the sacrifices he made for a performance that earned him his first Oscar in an acting career spanning nearly forty years.

Talk about patience…

He slept in animal carcasses, plunged in and out of icy rivers, suffered through viral infections and ate raw bison liver (DiCaprio’s a vegetarian mind you). All in temperatures that were rarely above -30C.

It’s safe to say he made some extreme sacrifices in order to deliver the most believable and compelling performance the actor was capable of. At least the Academy thought so. In return he was rewarded with a Golden GlobeAward and a Best ActorOscar.

He didn’t have to go full ‘Method‘ and demand to only be addressed as his character 19th-century frontiersman Hugh Glass on set. He didn’t refuse to break character in between takes. He was simply willing to make the necessary sacrifices and through meticulous preparation he showed up as the best version of himself.

“If we ended up [using] green screen with coffee and everybody having a good time, everybody will be happy, but most likely the film would be a piece of s—.”

– González Iñárritu, Director, The Revenant

A true commitment to excellence.

This year a new group of talented performers will be rewarded for their sacrifice, preparation and their ability to perform at peak state. After the awards I’m sure we’ll hear many stories of what these performers put themselves through for their achievements. The big takeaway is that if you really want to awaken the best version of yourself – then you have to do something to get its attention.

It’s a principle of equivalent exchange. Nothing can be gained without first giving something of equal value in return. There is no ‘free lunch’. You get out what you put in.

Your life only gets better when you get better. There is no set limit on how better you can get at anything, therefore there is no set limit on how much better your life can get.

The next time you receive a Facebook invite to a party or social event, politely decline. Stay home and read a book or article related to a topic or goal you’ve currently set.

When you’re tempted to put something in your body that although will temporarily make you feel good but is detrimental to your health – put it down and make a healthy snack.

Take a freezing cold shower. It increases alertness, circulation and eases stress with numerous other benefits.

Train a part of your body or mind in a way you never have before.

Sit down with an old fashioned pen and pad and flesh out that idea you’ve been procrastinating on. Then act on it!

Develop habits of sacrifice, planning, preparation and executing at your very best. If you can discipline yourself to do what you need to do, when you need to do it, whether you want to do it or not, your reward is essentially guaranteed.

The Complete List of Nominations For The 2017 Oscars

The 2017 Oscar Awards will air LIVE! SUNDAY FEBRUARY 26th, 7pm Eastern|4pm Pacific on ABC. Here is a list of every nominee across every category. Subscribe for updates detailing my reaction(s) to the results. Who’s performance most impressed you? Leave your predictions and reactions in the comments below.

Don’t forget to download our handy printable Oscar Nominee ballot at the bottom of this page to cast your vote.

BEST PICTURE

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

La La Land

Lion

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Land of Mine

A Man Called Ove

The Salesman

Tanna

Toni Erdmann

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea

Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Denzel Washington, Fences

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Isabelle Huppert, Elle

Ruth Negga, Loving

Natalie Portman, Jackie

Emma Stone, La La Land

Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea

Dev Patel, Lion

Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Viola Davis, Fences

Naomie Harris, Moonlight

Nicole Kidman, Lion

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

My Life as a Zucchini

The Red Turtle

Zootopia

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Arrival

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

Silence

VISUAL EFFECTS

Deepwater Horizon

Doctor Strange

The Jungle Book

Kubo and the Two Strings

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

COSTUME DESIGN

Allied

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Florence Foster Jenkins

Jackie

La La Land

DIRECTING

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

FILM EDITING

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Moonlight

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

Fire at Sea

I Am Not Your Negro

Life, Animated

O.J.: Made in America

13th

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)

Extremis

4.1 Miles

Joe’s Violin

Watani: My Homeland

The White Helmets

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

A Man Called Ove

Star Trek Beyond

Suicide Squad

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Arrival

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Hail, Caesar!

La La Land

Passengers

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from La La Land

Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

“Can’t Stop The Feeling” from Trolls

Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster

“City Of Stars” from La La Land

Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

“The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story

Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting

“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana

Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Jackie

La La Land

Lion

Moonlight

Passengers

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Blind Vaysha

Borrowed Time

Pear Cider and Cigarettes

Pearl

Piper

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Ennemis Intérieurs

La Femme et le TGV

Silent Nights

Sing

Timecode

SOUND EDITING

Arrival

Deepwater Horizon

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Sully

SOUND MIXING

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

Arrival

Fences

Hidden Figures

Lion

Moonlight

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

Hell or High Water

La La Land

The Lobster

Manchester by the Sea

20th Century Women

Download the Nominee Ballot

Not attending the Oscars? Relax, I got you. I’ve provided a handy printable version of the Nominee Ballot in PDF format so you can cast your vote at your own Oscar party at home. Just click the graphic below. Enjoy!

Artist, Entrepreneur, Actor and Author of RIO ROCKET's RocketBlog - a blog dedicated to the Pursuit of Peak Performance in all aspects of your life. It's actually the blog you're reading now...what a coincidence.
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